Musical insincerity is a real problem for Mick. I find his efforts on Bridges To Babylon hard to swallow. If he spent a little more time trying to make music to the best of his ability he may find he achieves a little more commercial success.Eyeing up latest fads and trends and trying to incorporate it into his music in a bid to remain top of the heap isn't the answer - the general public ca
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This is a curious offering from the Stones as they are obviously jumping on the MTV bandwagon.Unlike many other trends the Stones have followed this stripped down album was more than welcome. I remember at the time it was a real novelty hearing a number of less regularly played songs performed in a more intimate way without the large backing that goes with the stadium concerts.I remember it went
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I think Bridges To Babylon suffers from a great many problems. Generally there is a lack of vitality in many of the uptempo performances. I am referring to the lack of variation within each song. The song starts at a certain tempo and then plods along until it is time to finish. There is very little guitar interplay or spontaneity. This was brought to light when i went back and listened to Dirt
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Unfortunately SteelWheels has a more sterile produced sound than any other album in their career which i find makes it hard to listen to. The Stones always rock best when their sound is dense and muddy. SteelWheels digital sound is precisely the opposite.
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I think the tour logos used on the covers of SteelWheels, Voodoo Lounge,Bridges To Babylon and also the blatant use of the tongue logo prominantly seen on the No Security CD cover really confirms the Stones are primarily a corporate venture and any relationship to creativity is long gone. Back to Dirty Work - it does sound like genuine Stones music even if it's not them at their best.It is
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I think Winning Ugly and Back To Zero are primarily Micks songs. What is noticeable about these songs is the changes in tempos in different stages of the songs and the different instrumentation which creates freshness and vitality. Too many later songs begin at a set tempo and carry on until the end without much variation. Also the digital production saps the vitality out of the later songs. The
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I don't believe the Stones were ever really political musically and those songs that could be deemed so to a small extent were always vague. I feel the social relevence in the lyric writing of the Stones was really at a peak between the mid sixties- turn of the seventies.Many songs such as Mothers Little Helper, Paint It Black, Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby... have really great lyrics tha
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I was watching repeats of the BBC In Concert series from the early seventies and James Taylor was included along with Carole King,Neil Young and Joni Mitchell amongst others. James performance from 1970 didn't strike me as much as some of the others on a first listen but over a period of time i loved his the most. There is great subtelty in his playing particuarly in his guitar plucking wh
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Unfortunately going back to Dirty Work has made me realise just how much the later releases are lacking - energy,spark,vitality - it's all gone!
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It's Getting Hot Up Here is credited as Perth 1973 but it's actually Sydney . It also comes under the bootleg titled Rock 'n' Roll Stew. It's a must - the sound quality maybe isn't as clear as Brussels but it has far more raw energy. Welcome To Australia and Rocks off are recorded only two or three days apart from It's Getting Hot Up Here and are extremely simi
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I was just thinking about the Stones career and their importance to a generation musically, socially etc. I actually believe their importance in these areas actually finished at the start of the seventies - 1971 to be precise and from 1972 onwards they have been on the periphery of musical importance - in other words they no longer have any more importance than a great rock 'n' roll ban
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I think the 78 tour is far superior. I think the main difference is in 78 Mick's voice sounded fresh,raw and full of vitality and in 81 he just sounded gruff.The band played very well on both tours but Mick made all the difference. The 78 tour was the last time i loved Mick's voice without reservations.His vitality seemed to leave him after that tour.
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All those already mentioned are my favourites but a less obvious one is Dead Flowers live at the Marquee. I'm not just talking about the solo during the guitar break but also his work during the rest of the song particuarly the choruses .
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After going back and listening to Back To Zero i have changed my opinion. I think Deidre is right it's not one of worst Stones songs - a lot of the later songs are far worse.It is just that when i originally bought the album back in 1986 i thought it was but it actually sounds quite decent compared to Sex Drive, Rock And A Hard Place, Suck On The Jugular and nearly everything off Bridges To
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I thought Too Much Blood was one of the very best songs on Undercover. I think Deidre makes some very valid points - Dirty Work is basic and raw overall and i don't mind Mick's rough vocals on many of the songs but many of the songs are incredibly weak. Mick sounds like he's trying to flog a dead horse on Hold Back although i do prefer this sound to the slick and polished sound fro
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I think Ronnie has done well to stick in with the Stones for so long particuarly considering both Brian and Mick T lasted a relatively brief time. In 75 Ronnie played the Mick Taylor role as well as he could although i would never have any trouble telling them apart. I do believe though in joining the Stones Ronnie has forfeitted any creative aspirations he may have had. Ronnie belongs in a ba
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I know a number of Stones fans who never buy bootlegs. I lent one Brussels Affair and he was really surprised at the way Mick Taylor played saying he was really brilliant. Some fans believe the official live albums do represent the Stones at their very best and any bootleg is bound to be inferior.
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Mick Taylor's legacy will only be fully appreciated when some live Stones performances are released to the general public - until then he will remain the forgotten Stone - undervalued and underappreciated. I was listening to a radio broadcast the other day and someone had a rare momento of the Stones with their faces on. The owner said it included the blonde guitarist who followed Brian
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Has anyone else read Nankering With The Rolling Stones? James Phelge sounded like a real nutter.Definitely the most enjoyable book i have read so far - i don't know how James remembers in such detail after so many years.
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What do you reckon are the best books ever written on the Stones? I have just finished reading James Phelge book Nankering With The Stones and i think it's a must for any Stones fan. James recollection about living with Mick,Keith and Brian in Edith Grove is a real insight into the early years of the Stones. It is also a very entertaining read with plenty of incident.I would not have liked
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Paul Rodgers has never found a group to match Free. He's a great blues/soul singer and not the type of singer who is best suited to singing Queen material. I saw him singing with the Firm years ago and although he sang well enough it wasn't a successful musical collaboration. I appreciate the members of Queen may be talented but i've never particuarly liked their music.I don'
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Between The Buttons has always been one of my favourite Stones albums. Yesterday's Papers and Backstreet Girl are two of my very favourite Stones songs. Mick sings a lot softer on this album also - his distinctive raw vocals are missing. The songs are as strong as Aftermath but i feel Aftermath makes for a much more varied listen.
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I would certainly agree about Bob Dylan - he certainly seems to have found a way of recording that really works. The Stones i feel try too hard to be different when their earlier style was far more effective.
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I find it hard to find any truly great songs from this period. One or two ballads from Voodoo Lounge aren't bad such as Blinded By Rainbows, Out Of Tears and Thru And Thru.
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I have been listening to the Rocks Off bootleg from Perth 73 and the arrangement of Gimmie Shelter seems a little different from the regular 72-73 versions. There seems much more piano and percussion at the beginning and Mick Taylor doesn't start playing his prominant lead until the second chorus and even then he plays it a little differently with plenty of wah wah guitar. Anyone know an
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Midnight Rambler Sympathy For The Devil Street Fighting Man Gimmie Shelter Jumping Jack Flash Love In Vain 100 Years Ago Let It Loose Dead Flowers Tumbling Dice I'll probably have some different favourites next week.
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Elton John went for a more basic approach n this last two albums and the critical reaction was good.I don't think he would ever recapture his seventies peak though.
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The Stones are a great visual live group and i would always rather see them do a performance type video even if they are miming. The seventies/ early eighties videos (or promo films) were fine because they were more basic (Miss You, Respectable, Emotional Rescue, Start me up etc) and i thought Waiting On A Friend was one really great non performance video. I remember Undercover Of The Night ca
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I think there is a slickness to the Stones sound since SteelWheels that really goes against what the classic earlier Stones sound was all about but i believe that is also true of rock music in general these days.Rock music has been cleaned up and i don't like it. I like the Stones when they experiment but i feel in Jagger's case in particular they try too hard to incorporate the latest
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Dirty Work is a poor album but it does have a raw feel that i love and has been missing from the Stones later material. I like the sound of a number of the songs without really liking the songs themselves. I would prefer to listen it to say Bridges to Babylon which i feel most definitely ranks with the Stones worst. I do believe Back To Zero is one of the Stones worst.
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